In the movie, Bill Murray’s character, Phil, is caught in a seemingly endless time loop on Groundhog Day. Presumably, the reason for the curse is to teach him to be a better person.

But a fan theory by Redditor SuperConductiveRabbi suggests that the whole “be a better person” thing is a ruse, and it all REALLY happens because of this guy:

If you’ll remember, Ned Ryerson is an insurance salesman, and on Phil’s last day in the time loop, he actually buys life insurance from Ned.

Columbia Pictures

So, what if Ned Ryerson is actually the Devil in disguise, and the life insurance contract is just a ruse to try to get Phil to sell his soul?

Think about it: Ned traps Phil in the time loop, making him think that he has to improve himself in order to escape. He would anticipate that Phil would eventually do every possible good deed he could in that one day, including buying insurance from Ned…and wouldn’t it be easy to slip in some fine print about the sale of one’s eternal soul into a long insurance contract?

Columbia

Other supporting evidence includes the fact that Ned tells Phil to “watch out for that first step,” which could mean his first step into the time loop.

After all, if Ned is responsible for the loop, Phil’s “first step” into the loop would’ve happened right after their encounter. Ned ominously says that it’s “a doozy,” and Phil steps right into an icy puddle…perhaps a reference to hell freezing over?

Oh, and there’s also the fact that Ned uses the term “heckfire” in their conversation. Nobody says “heckfire.” Except maybe the devil.

Columbia Pictures

So there you have it. Is Ned Ryerson actually Satan? Did Phil accidentally damn himself to a true eternity in hell in order to escape the not-quite-so-hellish Groundhog Day loop?